In 1539, Hernando de Soto reached the US and landed approximately 5 miles west of Bradenton. It was the start of the first major, organized exploration by the Europeans of the southern United States. Today, a small tract of public land called the Fort De Soto National Memorial marks the location of the landing. This small national preserve has a lot to offer on its nature trail, including a mangrove swamp, a homestead, and views of the Manatee River. Additionally, you can extend your hike into nearby Riverview Pointe Preserve for some hiking in the uplands farther from the shoreline. This hike occurred on Friday, February 5th, 2016. My plan was to start my hike at Riverview Pointe Preserve. I would hike down the nature trail to Fort De Soto National Memorial, from where I would hike the Memorial Trail. to Desoto Point and then to De Soto Monument. I would retrace my steps back to Riverview Pointe Preserve the same way, but I would use a connector to shortcut some of the trail on the return trip.

About Me

Mark OlegMy name is Mark,​I am 16 years old, and I've been hiking since 2011. I started by hiking occasionally short trails in the Georgia State Parks, as I live in Atlanta. Then in 2012, I expanded my trips into other states of the Southeast. During the year of 2013, I started hiking more in the National Forests and especially in the Carolinas and Tennessee. My other hobbies include chess, science, meteorology, and music. In fact, I am a weather forecaster with 3 years of experience. I am a student at European School of Music where I learned that music and nature have a lot in common. Listening to good music inspires me to capture nature's beauty on the camera in different aspects that also make me recall many beautiful music pieces that I've heard.